Reading Through “Half the Church,” Part 3: Putting Women in Their Place

Women have struggled throughout history to understand what womanhood means. The struggle doesn’t dissipate for Christian women. In fact, the struggle may actually heighten for God’s daughters as they attempt to align their lives to the measure of Scripture. Author Carolyn Custis James tackles this struggle head-on in her book Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women.

Here in the third of a four-post review (also see Part 1 and Part 2), I want to highlight how James unpacks the concept of womanhood. As with most polarizing discussions, people find comfort when everyone runs to the corner of belief that best defines their position. That makes it easier to stereotype and label rather than discuss and grow. James calls us to come out from our corners and have a chat.

In seeking to understand God’s intent for women, James leads us to common ground. Square one is found in the creation account, where we see how God defined Eve (and therefore, all women who would come after her): “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’ ” (Gen. 2:18).

Ah, helper. The mere mention of the word scatters us to our corners where we cling to what we think we know. Yet, the debate continues, even among the most respected theologians and thinkers. James asks us to stay on square one a bit longer to reconsider that word helper, which is ezer in Hebrew. That Hebrew word holds a treasure for us, if we will stay long enough to consider it:

Long before I started digging, scholars tallied up the twenty-one times ezer appears in the Old Testament: twice in Genesis for the woman (Genesis 2:18, 20), three times for nations to whom Israel appealed for military aid (Isaiah 30:5; Ezekiel 12:14; Daniel 11:34), and here’s the kicker—sixteen times for God as Israel’s helper (Exodus 18:4; Deuteronomy 33:7, 26, 29; Psalms 20:2; 33:20; 70:5; 89:19 [translated “strength” in the NIV]; 115:9, 10, 11; 121:1–2; 124:8; 146:5; Hosea 13:9).

James is telling us that ezer is used to describe: (1) women, (2) nations that will rise up to protect Israel through military aid, and (3) God as Israel’s helper in trouble. That’s quite a trio! My first reaction was to play that game Which-One-of-These-Things-Is-Not-Like-the-Others—and women would be my pick. Nations offering Israel military protection and God rising up on behalf of Israel? Yes, those go together. But how do women fit with them? I certainly don’t think of myself in this way.

But just because women don’t see themselves as ezers, and just because men don’t see women as ezers, that doesn’t undo God’s intent. God created Eve and called her an ezer, made to partner with Adam in ruling the earth. James contends, “Putting the facts together, isn’t it obvious that the ezer is a warrior?”

The facts may stand, but I, for one, have never considered myself a warrior, physically or otherwise. Over the years, I’ve bounced many synonyms about for the word helper. Never has warrior been among them. This definition gives Genesis 2:18 a whole new meaning: “I will make him a [warrior] fit for him.” Maybe warrior is no less confusing than helper, but James believes this word is large enough to house the essence of God’s passionate, protecting love that seeks to rescue the poor, defend and redeem the oppressed, pity the weak and needy, and protect people from violence (Ps. 72:12–14).

To be honest, I have no clue what it means to be a warrior. That’s why I appreciate how James instructs us to walk out our identity as God’s warrior daughters. She urges us “to fortify ourselves for the daunting mission God has given us” by being strong in the Lord, for “the ezer-warrior’s first line of defense and . . . primary source of strength is her theology—what she knows about God.” If I am to reflect Him to the world, I must know Him and His heart. I must dig deep into the Word and let it change me, correct me, soften me, and heal me, so that I will be a vessel God can use to bring healing to the nations. Then I will echo the cry of Mary’s heart when she learned of her role in God’s redemptive plan: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord” (Luke 1:38). That’s the heart of a warrior made in her Father’s image, and that’s the sort of daughter I want to be.